Schemes for Women Entrepreneurship Development: Highlights

Schemes for Women Entrepreneurship Development: Highlights

Question: Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Schemes for women entrepreneurs will pave the way for gender parity in the industry. Discuss.

- Ministry of MSME has implemented essential schemes for women entrepreneurship development

- These programmes are for facilitating employment opportunities for women

Schemes include the following:

- TREAD/Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development Scheme

- TREAD Scheme envisages economic empowerment of women through trade related training, information and counselling extension activities

- Financial loans are provided as per the scheme by nationalised banks and grants by GoI at 30% of the loan subject to a maximum of INR 30 lakh via NGOs for capacity building and taking up self employment ventures by women in non agricultural activities

Mahila Coir Yojana Award

- Financial assistance is provided for motorised ratts for spinning coir yarn to lady artisans following training

- Government provides motorised ratts/motorised traditional rates at 75% cost subsidy subject to a topmost ceiling of INR 7500 for motorised rates and INR 3200 for motorised traditional ratts

- Balance 25% is raised via beneficiaries

PMEGP/Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme:

- This provides women entrepreneurs with extra subsidy of 10% over the general category entrepreneurs in rural as well as urban areas

- There is reduced beneficiary contribution of 5% of project cost as against 10% assigned for general category

- Under the Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Scheme, special dispensation is provided for lady entrepreneurs in soft and hard intervention ranging from 15 to 20 percent of GoI grant

Facts and Stats

- Funds allocated for this scheme in 2015-2016 is INR 6.7 crore

- These are Central Sector schemes

- Between 1997 and 2002, the growth of women owned businesses was growing twice as fast as other entrepreneurial ventures

- Women in India constitute 35.3 percent of complete entrepreneurial activity

- Percentage of firms run by ladies with more than USD 1 million revenue is only 1.8%